can someone please tell me what you use to glue clear plastic. I just did my lanterns on the soleil royal they are on and okay but the effect is lousy. what do I do.
You can use diluted, white school glue.
Cements formulated for styrene can sometimes fog clear parts, as can CA glues. You can use a PVA type glue, or something like Testors clear parts cement & window maker or MicroScale Krystal Kleer.
If no strength is needed, I use the PVA types like Phil suggested (particularly like the Micro Scale stuff. But if strength is needed for a stronger bond, I resort to epoxy. Surfaces must be clean for a good epoxy bond- I clean them with rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. I keep a bottle of that on my workbench as a good safe cleaning agent. In fact, I sometimes use it even for the PVA glues. It seems some transparent parts seem to have a mold release on them.
i use the clear parts cement from Testors. for older model subjects like lanterns on a tall ship, i would use this and add a thin layer to make it appear wavy. similar to glass making techniques of the time.
I usually use Testors clear parts cement as well. I have heard however that if you dip your clear parts in Future first, which I usually do anyway, It will not haze with cyano glue. Anyone have experience with this?
I had the plastic haze when using Future in spite of putting on future first. However, I didn’t realize you are supposed to then take the future OFF. That seems to be the secret- the haze comes off with the Future, which they say can be removed with ammonia, like in Windex. I haven’t tried that yet, though.
In my experience so far, I’ve found of all the PVA-based products I’ve tried, Pacer’s Formula ‘560’ seems to have the strongest hold. My theory is since it is formulated for the jars and jolts of RC aircraft, it has to be stronger, maybe?
Of course, Don’s epoxy method would be stronger yet. At least I’d assume so.
Denatured alcohol will remove CA haze on untreated clear styrene. I suspect it would strip a Future coat as well.
Of course the problem still remains for transparencies in a closed compartment. One may not have access to the inside of the clear plastic to wipe it clean. I have had the fog on the inside after gluing in windows in a closed area.
Diluted white school glue is the best bet. I actually use regular testors glue but I apply it to the clear part on the tip of a pin. Takes a while but works. Frequently its diluted school glue with a few drops of testors at a few places
Gator Grip Hobby Glue is very good. I understand that it may be hard to come by for a while.
True dat. Glue on a detail to the nose with CA and the tail turret will fog up right quick.
I get good results protecting the clearies with future and using CA.
Sometimes PVA is nice as it’s useful for gap filling.
thanks to everyone for your help, looks like weak pvc is the way to go
one thing though, futures is that a solvent of some kind.
Steve
You’ll see Future mentioned a lot. Its a floor varnish which gets used for its properties of drying very hard and not reactiing with plastics. The name has changed a bit over the years but everyone still calls it Future, the name can depened on where you are in the world too
Phil
I don’t think Future is a varnish, but a clear liquid acrylic.
Yes, Finish is acrylic. And you can airbrush with it! I have forgotten the formula to dilute it for airbrushing though.
Use standard air brush precautions. A mask is a good idea.
do you coat the inside of the clear plastic, with it to stop fogging. is that the idea and I take it to toughen your finished paint job.
Give
http://cs.finescale.com/search/default.aspx?q=future
a look. It is all about various threads, about Future and its uses 